19 Catering & Decor Ideas for Tailgate-Theme Parties

With football season in full swing and anticipation building up to Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, here's a look at some creative event ideas for tailgate-inspired decor, entertainment, food, and activities.

At Diffa’s Dining by Design in Chicago in November, an elegant tailgate party inspired the vignette from Sparc Inc., designed by Richard Cassis and Hunter Kaiser.

Gesture recognition technology can lend an innovative techy vibe to a tailgate bash. For the Sports Illustrated Heisman Tour, Brightline Interactive created a two-person game where players tried to complete the most football passes in one minute.

Photo: Courtesy of Brightline Interactive

Solo cups are an often-spotted component of any tailgate party. Turn them into decor by arranging dozens of the cups inside the spaces of hurricane fencing to spell out game day messages.

Photo: Susie Montagna

Custom foam fingers—like those seen at this year’s Boobyball benefit in Toronto—are sure to get guests in the mood to root for their favorite teams.

Photo: Jenna Marie Wakani

Serving chili to a large crowd? Take a page from Jewell Events Catering, which had its staffers serving chili from trash cans at Chicago’s ArtEdge gala in February 2013.

Photo: Alain Milotti

Let guests customize their own game day food by hosting a burger station like the one overseen by Peter Callahan Catering at Burger King’s summer menu preview in New York last May.

The New York City Wine & Food Festival introduced a new event during this October’s festivities dubbed Jets & Chefs: the Ultimate Tailgate hosted by Joe Namath and Mario Batali. At the walk-around sampling of top chefs’ takes on game day cuisine, Coors Light created a football-theme photo op.

Wings are a game day staple. At Jets & Chefs, New York City barbecue joint Mighty Quinn’s gave the classic snack an update by smothering crispy, smoked chicken wings with chile-lime sauce, scallions, and cilantro.

Boston nonprofit Team Impact hosted its first Game Day gala in Boston in 2012. The tailgate-inspired decor included college-style pennants and fresh grass evocative of a football field.

Photo: Courtesy of Team Impact

In 2012, the N.F.L. hosted its first fan-focused Super Bowl party in Canada, gathering guests in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto. Toronto’s party took over Sound Academy, where Astroturf carpet marked with yard lines covered the floor and a retractable screen was lowered over the stage while the game played.

The N.F.L. hosted two Super Bowl events at Sun Life Stadium in Miami in 2010, including an official N.F.L. Tailgate. As part of the festivities, pastry chefs competed in a cake decorating competition.

Photo: Chad Whidden/Party Planners West Inc.

Budweiser threw its version of a tailgate party to promote N.F.L. games in Toronto in 2008. A Budweiser trailer was parked at the outdoor bash, and guests enjoyed barbecued fare and could participate in games like football toss.